Paragon Inn

Airport hotels don't frequently inspire soliloquies -- and while The Paragon Inn may not either, it is a nice step up from most of what's on offer around Suvarnabhumi Airport. This small hotel is set on attractive grounds featuring a lush trees and shrubs, wood benches and chairs, and a Thai-style gazebo. Housed in a two-story contemporary white building, there are Thai decorative elements throughout, though everything has a largely straightforward, modern look. Expect to see lots of dark wood and rattan furnishings, and abundance of white, and accents like orange and brown. The open-air restaurant has slanted ceilings with exposed beams. An outdoor thatched-roof coffee hut sells drinks, snacks, and ice cream, but the centerpiece here is the outdoor swimming pool, set in a courtyard with palm trees and a wood deck lined with colorful lounge chairs. The hotel draws mainly leisure tourists as well as as some business travelers attracted by the affordable rates, good facilities, and proximity to Suvarnabhumi Airport. The hotel is located near a canal, so there are occasional issues with mosquitoes.

The Paragon Inn is located in the Lat Krabang area, about a 10-minute drive or hotel shuttle trip to Suvarnabhumi Airport (Don Mueang International Airport is about a 40-minute drive away -- though that changes with traffic). The area immediately surrounding the property is quiet, and the hotel is at the end of a long soi off of the area's main road. Paseo Mall is a 10-minute walk away and there are a few restaurants and an ATM nearby, but otherwise there aren't many sights or much commercial activity in the area. The Lat Krabang SRT station -- on the train line from the airport into Bangkok -- is a 10-minute drive from the hotel. It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour to reach central Bangkok by car -- the commute times vary wildly due to the city's insane traffic.

Rooms at The Paragon Inn have a bright, contemporary look with mostly bare white walls, all-white bedding with colorful throw pillows, light wood flooring, and white or light gray walls. Some of the poolside rooms add elements of pale green, and furniture is done in a range of veneers -- white, black, and light wood -- all with clean, modern lines. Rooms are spacious and quiet, and there are proper closets for storage. Some rooms are a sharp step up from others, like the Pool Suite we saw during our visit, with its white marble surfaces and mod-inspired accent panels. Poolside rooms also have large windows overlooking the pool and gardens, as well as private balconies or decks with lounge chairs or direct pool access (for ground floor rooms). All 25 rooms come with air-conditioning, desks, safes, mini-fridges, tea- and coffee-making facilities, free bottled water, free Wi-Fi, and flat-screen TVs with English and satellite channels. Some have DVD players. Wi-Fi can be a little slow, and some safes will not fit a laptop. Bathrooms are clean and spacious, outfitted with either shower/tub combos or separate tubs and rainfall showers. It's details like mosaic-tile tub basins in some rooms that make this hotel a little more special than its competition. A simple selection of toiletries is provided. Rooms occupy two floors and there is no elevator, but staff will assist with baggage upon request. All rooms are non-smoking, but smoking areas are provided outside every room. 

The Paragon Inn features an outdoor pool, set in a courtyard with trees and a sundeck with lounge chairs. The small, simple spa offers body and foot massages as well as manicures and pedicures. There's a compact fitness center as well, equipped with free weights and a couple of modern cardio machines, but no weight machines. The restaurant serves a breakfast buffet (for a fee) that includes eggs, bacon, pancakes, toast, cereal, coffee, tea, and Asian items. Thai and Western dishes are served for lunch and dinner, and room service is available. The hotel also has a cocktail bar and outdoor thatched-roof coffee hut with drinks, snacks, and ice cream. Free parking, a business center, and meeting room are also on-site. The hotel's roundtrip airport shuttle (for a fee) operates 24 hours a day, and the hotel also offers free tuk-tuk service to nearby Lat Krabang Road.